Fiji centre Josua Tuisova will miss his son’s funeral to stay in France at the World Cup after learning of the seven-year-old’s tragic death just hours before playing Georgia.

The 29-year-old played 79 minutes (before receiving a yellow card) in the narrow 17-12 victory over the Lelos despite being told his child had passed after a long illness, as first reported by Fiji Village.

Read more: Fiji Rugby World Cup squad

Ahead of this week’s final Pool C fixture against Portugal, Tuisova will remain with the squad who are set for a quarter-final clash with Steve Borthwick’s England. The Fijian website reports Tuisova has told his father he will not be able to attend the funeral today (3 October).

Simon Raiwalui’s Flying Fijians have been one of the stars of the tournament after coming so close to beating Wales before knocking off Australia for the first time in 60 years. They are on the cusp of sealing a place in the knockouts, Fiji only need one point from their clash with Portugal to advance to face England – who are already confirmed as Pool D winners.

It would be an intriguing rematch of the final World Cup warm-up match when Fiji beat England for the first time in their history, securing a 30-22 win at a rain-soaked Twickenham.

If Fiji progress, it would mean Australia exit at the pool stage for the first time in their history. After going down to the Pacific Islanders, the Wallabies suffered a record-breakingly bad defeat to Wales, heaping the pressure on boss Eddie Jones.

They kept alive their faint hopes of progressing by securing a try bonus point in the win over Portugal but now must hope the Lobos can stun Fiji.

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